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Issue 23, May 11, 2010
New Lacey Act Primer Presentation
The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued its April 2010 version of their “Lacey Act Primer”. This power point presentation provides general information on the Lacey Act Declaration requirement. A copy of the presentation can be found at:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/downloads/LaceyActPrimer.pdf
APHIS Says Piece Count Too Vague- Plans to Tighten up Enforcement of Units of Measure to Better Align with Law
APHIS sources state that piece count is too vague a measurement for use in the Lacey Act Declaration, as it does not indicate the quantity of plant material being imported but rather only the number of items being imported. Acceptable units must measure the plant content. The updated Primer indicates that acceptable measures include cubic meters (m3) and kilograms (kg).
While board feet (bd. ft. or BF) is an acceptable unit of measure, APHIS states the preferred units are those that are metric based, such as meters (m), square meters (m2), and cubic meters (m3), as well as kilogram-based units of measure, etc.
APHIS sources state that declaring the quantity on the declaration is required by the Lacey Act Amendments. They add that APHIS has been lenient with the unit of measure requirement until now, by allowing piece count measurement. APHIS is now tightening up its standards and wants the actual quantity of the plant (in the importation) to be measured, not just the number of items imported.
Next Scheduled Enforcement Phase Not Yet Scheduled
No publication has yet been made regarding the next scheduled Lacey Act Declaration enforcement phase, which will establish what new products will become subject to the declaration requirement and when the requirement will come into effect. The regulations require a 6 month notice prior to enforcement.
Details on the Lacey Act requirement can be found at-
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/index.shtml
Regards,
Paul Vroman
Regulatory & Compliance Consultant
DHL Global Forwarding
